


autumn leaves of red and gold

by agentmmayy



Series: promptober [6]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Banter, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Multi, Post-Season/Series 02, Tickle Fights, raking leaves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 04:40:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21009878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agentmmayy/pseuds/agentmmayy
Summary: Melinda, Hunter, and Bobbi start out raking leaves in the front lawn but end up rolling in them instead.





	autumn leaves of red and gold

**Author's Note:**

> for al who prompted mayhuntingbird + 6: raking leaves. hope you enjoy!

Rake prongs scraped against the dead earth, pulling up dried Bermuda grassroots that refused to budge until a sharp tug was given. They snapped beneath the prongs and were swept along with leaves that decorated the lawn into an ever so quickly growing pile. The three rakes pushed against the ground almost in tandem, creating a rhythm that could hardly be heard above the wind that whistled through the front yard. 

Melinda pushed her rake against the ground again, dragging back more leaves with pieces of them flaking off. She, Bobbi, and Hunter had been outside raking for the better part of the morning. They started early since Bobbi insisted on having the biggest front and back yard when looking for a house. The entire front yard was covered in a multitude of brightly colored leaves, all ranging from red and yellow to orange and brown. It was beautiful, but they still had more than half the yard to go. 

“Should we even be doing this?” Melinda asked, momentarily pausing to glance at her girlfriend. Bobbi’s ponytail bobbed with her movements. She sent a curious glance to Melinda, who continued. “I thought I saw an article where raking leaves was bad for the lawn.”

“It’s debatable,” Bobbi said as she raked. “Leaves are beneficial to the environment. They can be used as fertilizer and create great habitats for creepy crawlers and other creatures, but they can also kill the grass. It’s good to rake up leaves just not  _ every  _ last leaf.” 

Hunter stopped raking. “Why the hell are we out here doing this then?”

“If we don’t want to get a nasty note from the HOA, then we have to rake.”

Melinda frowned at the thought of the board of the neighborhood home owner’s association. They were all baby boomers who couldn’t bear the thought of not having a perfectly manicured lawn all year round. “Screw them.”

“I hate to break it to you,” Hunter said from where he leaned on his rake, arms crossed over the handle. “But you’re old enough to be one of them, sweetheart.”

The only warning Hunter received was how Melinda’s eyes narrowed slightly before she tackled him into the pile of leaves. He yelped, arms automatically wrapping around Melinda’s waist as they fell. Leaves flew out around them, coating Bobbi, whose shriek was lost in the rush of wind in Melinda’s ears. She and Hunter landed with identical  _ oofs  _ on the ground, Hunter flat on his back with Melinda pressed to his chest. 

He lifted his head, eyes wide with shock as he stared at her. “What the bloody hell is wrong with you, woman?”

“Mel,” Bobbi groaned. She brushed leaves off from clinging to her sweater and jeans. When her eyes caught the mess of the now-dissolved pile of leaves across the front lawn, Bobbi sighed. “Really?”

Melinda shrugged. “What’s the point in raking leaves if you can’t jump in them?”

“We didn’t jump!” Hunter exclaimed. “You tackled me!”

When Melinda shifted, Hunter’s hands on her waist moved with her, sliding hotly against her sweater. She pointedly rolled her hips against his. “Doesn’t seem like you mind too much.”

He smirked. “Do I ever mind you on top?”

Melinda leaned down and pressed her lips to his in an answer. Hunter’s hands tightened on her waist, mouth opening hotly under hers. He rocked his hips against Melinda’s, causing a gasp to slip from her lips. Hunter greedily swallowed it, a moan rumbling deep in his chest. 

“Hey,” Bobbi said. She poked at Hunter and Melinda with the rake. “No getting frisky in the front yard, especially not without me.”

Melinda pulled away from Hunter, sitting to offer a hand up to Bobbi with a smirk tugging at the corner of her kiss-swollen mouth. “Then get down here.”

Bobbi unceremoniously tossed the rake down, bending to take Melinda’s hand. Though her knee was well on its way to healing, her physical activity, especially kneeling, was limited. Hunter sat up, taking Bobbi’s other hand as he and Melinda helped her down. She gingerly sat, one leg tucked beneath her with the other stretched out and resting against Melinda’s thigh. 

“Ugh,” she said. “My ass is cold now.”

“Mm,” Hunter began doubtfully. “No, you have a pretty hot ass.”

Bobbi scoffed. “I’m flattered.”

“There’s another way we can warm up.”

“Are you kidding?” Bobbi asked, giving her girlfriend a look that clearly translated to  _ you’re crazy. _ “We’re not doing anything out here. Mrs. Thomas hates us enough as is. She’d kick us out of the neighborhood if she saw us having sex outside.”

“Mrs. Thomas hates Hunter because he ran over her roses,” Melinda pointed out. Their seventy-some-year-old neighbor had it out for Hunter ever since that fateful morning. Who put roses around their mailbox anyway? “She likes us.”

“Well, in that case,” Bobbi grinned before dipping her chin down to Melinda’s. Melinda tilted her jaw up, mouth meeting Bobbi’s in a kiss that sent warmth tingling down her spine even with the cool breeze. Bobbi’s chilly lips quickly warmed under Melinda’s, and everything grew hotter when Melinda stroked her tongue along her girlfriends. She moved the hand she had on Bobbi’s thigh to her cheek, cupping it in her palm. Bobbi sighed against Melinda’s mouth 

“Hey,” Hunter piped up. “What about me?”

Bobbi regrettably pulled away from Melinda to raise an eyebrow at Hunter. “You two were practically dry humping. You can wait your turn.”

“Children,” Melinda said. “No fighting.”

“Children?”

“You’re the one that pointed out my age first.”

He sighed. “I did, didn’t I?”

Suddenly, Bobbi scooped up a handful of leaves and tossed it onto Hunter. He gasped and retaliated with a handful of his own, a much larger one that rained leaves down on Bobbi’s head. 

“Hey!” she laughed, brushing a leaf off her face. Bobbi threw it onto Melinda, who rocked to her knees and grabbed two handfuls of leaves, throwing them onto her partners. 

“Oh,” Bobbi laughed, dipping a hand into the small pile of leaves beside her. “Three can play at this game.”

With that, she leaned up onto her good knee and shoved a large amount of leaves at Hunter and Melinda. Dirt and grass flew everywhere with the leaves, but Melinda couldn’t bring herself to care. She was having too much fun and openly admitted it. Laughing, playing, and just enjoying the leaves, the season, and time with her girlfriend and boyfriend 

After a while, Bobbi leaned back on her hands with a tired huff. Melinda followed suit, dropping the leaves she held onto the ground. They immediately scattered, blowing across the lawn to the area they cleared earlier. 

“All our hard work,” Hunter said mournfully. “Wasted.” He glanced at Melinda. “Hopefully, you’re still spry enough to rake again.”

Bobbi shook her head. “We’ll let the wind clean it up.”

The wind had picked up since earlier, whipping around them in cold tendrils that lifted the ends of Bobbi’s hair up. It blew leaves across the lawn and across their laps, sticking to their clothes. Bobbi plucked one from her sweater, admiring the deep yellow speckled with brown. “Even though raking is really fun,” she added wistfully, twirling the stem of the leaf between her fingers. 

“For who?” Hunter asked, grumbling. “I’ll be lucky if I can bring my arms above my head tomorrow.”

“You need to work out more.” Melinda playfully jabbed at Hunter’s middle, feeling his muscled abdomen jump under her touch. “You’ve gone soft.”

He spluttered. “Excuse me? Soft? I think you forget I can still bench press thirty pounds more than you.”

“With these arms?” she teased, squeezing one of Hunter’s biceps. “I don’t think so anymore.”

“ _ These _ arms?” Hunter repeated, mock-offended. “I’ll show you what  _ these arms _ can do.”

For once, Melinda couldn’t move fast enough. Barring an arm around her waist, Hunter tipped Melinda onto her back. He brought his other hand up to her side, fingers digging into her most ticklish spot. A shriek left her before it turned into a string of gasping laughter. Melinda wiggled, trying to get away, but Hunter had her legs pinned and a devious smile on his face that let her know she wasn’t going anywhere soon. She writhed in the leaves, defenseless against his attack. 

“L-Lance!” Melinda gasped, breathlessly begging. She began to lift her hands to push him off, but Hunter caught them. He redoubled his efforts, and she shrieked. “Stop!  _ Laaance _ .”

“What’s that?” Hunter asked. “I can’t hear you over the sound of my rippling biceps.”

He had no intention of stopping anytime soon. Melinda turned her head to look to her girlfriend, who watched them from a few inches away. “Bobbi!”

Laughing, Bobbi shook her head, denying any help Melinda searched for. “You got yourself into this one, Mel.”

Traitor. “Please,” Melinda begged through her laughter, twisting in Hunter’s grasp, which only turned tighter. More laughter bubbled out of her when he slipped his fingers to the dip of her hip, where she was very sensitive. “Lance!”

“Admit I haven’t gone soft!”

She bit her tongue. Melinda loved to tease her husband and normally didn’t back down, but his tickles were beginning to grow unbearable, and her face hurt from laughing. “F-fine!” She surrendered. “You haven’t gone- gone soft.”

One last squeal escaped her as Hunter pushed his fingers between her ribs before he stopped tickling her. Melinda went limp, gasping for breath. She glared at Hunter, who only gave her a cheeky, clearly satisfied grin in return. 

Hunter turned, pouncing on Bobbi, albeit gently. It was her turn to shriek as he resumed his tickle attack. 

For a moment, Melinda continued to lie there. The ground was cold beneath her, seeping into her clothes and settling against her skin. Above her, the sky was clear and blue without a single cloud in sight. Branches bounced in the wind, sending more leaves raining down on the three of them. With each breath Melinda took, trying to regain it, cold air stung the back of her throat. This moment was perfect. She wouldn’t dare ruin it by taking her phone out and snapping a picture or filming a video. Instead, Melinda tried to commit it to memory. Fall was fleeting, and she intended to savor every bit of it. She closed her eyes, letting Bobbi and Hunter’s laughter wash over her before turning onto her side to watch them. 

Hunter had Bobbi on his lap, her back to his chest. His hands ran over her sides and stomach without the same ferocity as with Melinda. Still, Bobbi twisted against Hunter but made no move to get away from him though she easily could even with her knee. When he reached a particularly sensitive spot next to her belly button, Bobbi tossed her head against his shoulder with a squealed laugh that made the grin on Hunter’s lips grow wider. 

Looking at them, Melinda felt her heart bleed red from Hunter’s soft chuckles, and her vision turn gold from the sunlight in Bobbi’s hair. 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!


End file.
